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tion and process MAURICE R. SWOPE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRIMING OR DETONATING COMPOSITION.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE R. Sworn, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Priming or Detonating Compositions, of which the following is a specification.

This'invention relates to priming or detonating compounds, compositions, or mixtures, for use in actuating the discharge of explosive ingredients in cartridges and for other purposes, and has for some of its objects the provision of a product which will be less dangerous to handle than the fulminat es, such as mercury fulminate, and still be of such superior sensibility as to readily explode by compression or other suitable shock imparted thereto at selective protected points from which the hot penetrating flame caused by its ignition or explosion, or detonating waves induced thereby, may be conveyed or imparted to or through an exor other composition primarily employed in a. cartridge or other container, and whereby the resultingcombustion or explosion by-product will beless erosive or corrosive to the gun barrel or other device within which the explosion takes place, and also to provide a greater velocity of discharge having a greater uniformity of character and higher heat iyield than with compounds or compositions employed for similar processes hereto.

\Vith these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the combination of nitrocarbohydrates, such as nitrocellulose or nitrated cotton, and a thiocyanate, such as lead thiocyanate (Pb(CNS),), and an oxysuch as a chlorate, like potassium chlorate, or said chlorate augmented by a nitrate or nitrates, such as potassium nitrate, or potassium and barium nitrates, to which is preferably added an acid neutralizing agent or stabilizer, such as sodium carbonate, the substances being so combined that a product of high explosive efiiciency may be obtained, and which explosive will also be of non-hygroscopic nature.

As a specific or concrete example of a priming or detonating compound orcomposition in accordance with the present invenby which it may be made,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8,1916.

Application filed February 28, 1916. Serial No. 80,957.

mixture of alcohol and ether, to gelatinize the nitrocellulose and render it easily incorporated with the other ingredients and provide a means of binding or agglomerati'ng them and rendering them more non-hygroscopic when the acetone, or alcohol and ether, are evaporated. This mixture when dry is pulverized and may be designated as product No. 1.

A mixture is then made comprising finely powdered potassium chlorate, 50%, and lead thiocyanate, 25%, to which is added product No. 1, 25%. The whole mixture is then thoroughly incorporated, until the ingredients are thoroughly and closely associated, when the product will be complete. While it is preferable that these ingredients shall be employed in substantially the same proportions as set forth, it is not limited thereto, as any suitable proportions may be employed; this is also true of the different compounds employed, as any other suitable chlorate, nitrate, thiocyanate, or nitrocarbohydrate may be employed instead of those specifically stated without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The oxygen delivering compound, such as chlorate, may be of any kind or character, such as a normal chlorate or a perchlorate, and the base may be of irfetal or other nature, such as potassium or ammonium. The nitrate also may have as-a base ametal or other character such as potassium or am monium. And the thiocyanate may be an ester or ethereal salt, or an ammonium salt, or a metal salt, such as lead, but the compounds or ingredients given in the'specific example described are found to give good results. a

One of the important features of the present invention resides in the fact that it broadly comprises a nitrocarbohydrate, nitrocellulose, or more specifically nitrated cotton, combined with a thiocyanate and an oxygen delivering substance with the nitrocarbohydrate preferably in a compact, congelatinizing agent, such as gealed, colloidal, vitreous, or film like form, such as would be formed by action of acetone, or a mixture of alcohol and ether, on the nitrocarbohydrate and drying the same by evaporation of the acetone, or alcohol and ether, as specifically described with the compounds noted.

Thecomposition as above noted is preferably combined with an acid neutralizing agent or stabilizer, such as sodium carbonate.

The term or expression ogygen delivering as employed herein is intended to imply and does imply a substance capable of yieldlng or delivering oxygen during the process of explosion either by physical dissociation, such as the delivery of oxygen from a chlorate, such as potassium chlorate, leaving potassium chlorid as a by product, or, by chemical decomposition as with a nitrate, such as potassium nitrate, the delivery of the oxygen being accomplished by chemical ailinity, dissociation by the action of heat, or other means, directly, or augmented by catalytic or contact substances.

Having now described my invention what I claim is:

1. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and an oxygen delivering substance.

2. A priming or detonating composition,

, which comprises compactly congealed nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, delivering substance.

3. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a thiocyanate, and an oxygen delivering substance.

4. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed nitrocellulose, thiocyanate, and an oxygen delivering substance.

5. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and a chlorate.

6. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises compactly congealed nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and a chlorate.

7. A primingor detonating composition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a thiocyanate, and a chlorate.

8. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed nitrocellulose, thiocyanate, and a chlorate.

9. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and a chlorate augmented by a nitrate.

10. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises compactly congealed nitro carbohydrate, thiocyanate, and a chlorate augmented by a nitrate.

11. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a thiocyanate, and a chlorate augmented by a nitrate.

and an oxygen 12. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed nitrocellulose, thiocyanate, and a chlorate augmented by a nitrate.

13. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and potassium chlorate, augmented by potassium and barium nitrates.

14. A priming and detonating composition, which comprises compactly congealed nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, and potassium chlorate augmented by potassium and barium nitrates. I

15. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a triocyanate, and potassium chlorate augmented by potassium and barium nitrates.

16. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed nitrocellulose, thiocyanate, and potassium chlorate augmented by potassium and barium nitrates.

17. A priming or detonating composition,

which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, an oxygen delivpring substance, and an acid neutralizing agent. 18. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises compactly congealed nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, an oxygen delivering substance,-and an acid neutralizing agent.

19. A priming or detonatingcomposition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a thiocyanate, an oxygen delivering substance, and an acid neutralizing agent.

20. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed nitrocellulose, thiocyanate, an oxygen delivering substance, and an acid neutralizing agent. A

21. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocarbohydrate, thiocyanate, a chlorate augmented by a nitrate, and sodium carbonate.

22. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises compactly congealed nitroearbohydrate, thiocyanate, a chlorate augmented by a nitrate, and sodium carbonate.

23. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises nitrocellulose, a thiocyanate, a chlorate augmented by a nitrate, and sodium carbonate.

24. A priming or detonating composition, which comprises a compactly congealed ni trocellulose, thiocyanate, a chlorate augmented by a nitrate, and sodium carbonate.

In testimony whereof I afiix' my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MAURICE R. SWOPE. [1,. 3.

Witnesses:

HARRY A. KINCHLEY, O. N. G. MERCURY. 

